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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Web md's definition of sleep deprivation:"A sufficient lack of restorative sleep over a cumulative period so as to cause physical or psychiatric symptoms and affect routine performances of tasks."

As a mom, this definition is all too familiar, right? It seems like as moms, we make a lot of sacrifices, one of them being sleep. I don't know how many times I've woken up with Chandler trying to climb into bed with DH and me, or feel someone breathing on me and wake up to find Chan staring me right in the face. Many times I've wondered how I could get him to stay in bed. Now there's something that will do just that: My Tot Clock.

As taken from the My Tot Clock Website:"My Tot Clock is an all-in-one sleep aid, alarm clock, nightlight, and timer for children ages 2+"

Pros:My Tot Clock is another great mom inspired company. Pamela Gonzalez was a sleep deprived mom who needed to teach her son to stay in bed and establish a routine. Thus, My Tot Clock was born.I love how many functions this clock performs. Across the top of the clock, there are five different colored buttons. Each one correlates to a different activity.Green = EncouragementRed = DisciplineLight Blue = NaptimeYellow = Awake TimeDark Blue =Sleep TimeThe face of the clock lights up each of these colors too, which makes it easy for a child to know what to expect. One function of this clock we've actually used a lot is the discipline. Since Chandler is 3 years old, when he gets in trouble, he goes to the naughty spot for 3 minutes. A lot of times it was hard for me to gauge how long he was in his naughty spot and it was a pain to always run to the oven to turn on the timer. Now I just make sure that My Tot Clock is close, we are able to set it to 3 minutes, and push the button. Chandler knows while the clock is red he is to stay in time out. Once his time is up, the clock isn't red anymore and a buzzer signals to let him know it is over. He is no longer trying to weasel his way out of time out, and I'm amazed at how effective this is.Another button we really like is the sleep time. You can preset the sleep time button to the time your child normally goes to bed, and the bedtime routine will automatically start at that time. You can choose to have music, a story, and even white noise. Chandler loves to sit on his bed and listen to the story; it actually makes him excited to go to bed.

If you miss bedtime, or want to put your child to bed earlier, you can manually start the bedtime routine, which is nice. Once the bedtime routine is over, my tot clock makes a great night light and shines blue to know your child is to go to sleep. When we first started using this, I thought the blue light was way too bright. I then realized there was a dimmer on the back. How nice that someone has already thought of that.You can also set an "alarm" so your child knows when it's ok and time to get out of bed. The clock will turn yellow and fun wake music starts to play.My Tot Clock is very easy to use and has different cartridges you can buy and change out for the bedtime stories. The faceplate is also interchangable, and with 10 different choices, there's bound to be something for everyone!

Cons: I feel like the story that plays at bedtime is a bit fuzzy/static when you listen to it on the clock. Chandler doesn't seem to mind it, but I notice it. There were a couple different functions that I was also confused about when we first got My Tot Clock. For example, a few days after I got the clock, the face turned red and I couldn't figure out why it was doing this. Thanks to the FAQ on the My Tot Clock website, I was able to get my question answered. This particular page on their website is very helpful as it lists all FAQ's as well as tips and an online version of the user's guide. If you are planning on buying the Tot Clock, I would definitely bookmark this page.

The Bottom Line: A must have for parents with young children. Creates structure for different activities in an easy to understand way for you and your child.

To Enter:Visit My Tot Clock and tell me about a feature I didn't mention in this post - 1 entry

Additional Entries:Blog about this giveaway with links back to Babes and Kids and My Tot Clock - 2 entriesFollow this blog - 1 entryEnter another giveaway on Babes and Kids (All giveaways are listed on the top right sidebar, just click on one to enter.) - 1 entryGrab my Blinkie or Button - 1 entry

Please leave each entry as a separate comment!

Contest is open to US residents only and will end May 27th, 11:59 MST. Winner has 48 hours to contact me!

61
comments:

I love that this clock allows you to 'set' your childs wake up time back. We need this for our kid. He used to sleep in great, but now we need him to leep in at least 30 minutes more so he can be happy!

I LOVE this clock. I like the noah's ark and princess faceplates. The bedtime stories and lullabies sound excellent as well as the white noise. my big one would probably carry this around with him listening to a story but it would also be great to use the lullabies and white noise for my little one.

I like that you can set the white noise time or leave it on all night. I love that this clock has a handle so my child can carry it around. The clock has a lot of features, it is very neat. The only thing that might make it better is if it had a radio setting. My daughter is a music fanatic and she turns my clock radio on every morning and tries to take it with her.

The green light means do something good! It's great for any positive timed activity like getting a child to sit on the potty for 2 minutes, brush their teeth for 2 minutes, share a toy for 5 minutes at a time, or be patient while mommy is on the phone. Simply set the encourage duration and click the green button to activate. My Tot Clock will automatically beep and turn to yellow when time is up!

I learned that the My Tot Clock functions operate off the digital clock on the back of the unit. The analog clock on the front of the unit is simply for introducing your child to the concept of telling time. msurosey@yahoo.com

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About Me

I am a stay at home mama of two darling boys. Embarking on motherhood is an exciting journey but it seems there is so much and hard to figure out where to start. By trial and error I've found baby & kid products that I absolutely love as well as products that weren't worth my time or money. I will also pass along money saving deals and other valuable info. Hope you find this site helpful. Happy Reading!